Safety device for clothes wringers



March 6, 1928,

A. FQLKE SAFETY DEVICE FOR CLOTHES WRINGERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled Sept. 28. 1925 UIIIII'I, m

March 6, 1928,

A. FOLKE SAFETY DEVICE FOR CLOTHES WRINGERS Original Filed Sept. 28.1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IEIIE Patented Mar. 6, 1928.

3 UNITED STATES 1,661,654 PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR FOLKE, OF KANE, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR CLOTHES WRINGERS.

Reflled for abandoned application Serial No. 59,046, flied September 28,1925. This application nled January 7, 1928.

The object of this invention is to provide a power driven wringer withsafety means, whereby the hands of the operator will be protected frominjury by being drawn between the pressure rolls.

A further object is to effect this result by employing outer guardrolls, at least one of which is resiliently mounted, and special meansfor transmitting power to the lower guard roll independently of theupper roll of this pair.

A further object is to employ a toothed idler as an element of thegearing, so mounted that, assuming that the guard rolls are carried inbrackets or the like to be applied to standard wringers, moderatevariation in the size of the wringer frame will be taken care of, andadequate drive will be secured when the distance between the guard rollsand pressure rolls varies, for the reason indicated.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists inthe novel construction and arrangement of elemeiits described,illustrated and claimed, it being understood'that modifications may bemade within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spiritof the invention.

In the drawings forming part of this application Figure 1 is a view infront'elevation.

Figure 2 is a view in vertical section, on the line 22 of Figure 1, andshowing the mounting means and rolls at the left applied as anattachment to a standard wringer frame, a part of which. is broken away.

Figure 3 is a detail in elevation, from the right in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Figure 5 is a section on line 5--5of Fig. 1.

igure 6 is a top plan view of the attachment.

Fi re 7 is a detail view, in elevation, showing a part of thegearing,the toothed idler being detached.

Figure 8 is a detail in elevation, from another angle.

Figure 9 is a perspective view, showing means for journahng the shaft ofthe upper guard roller. The frame of a wringer, which may be of standardconstruction, includes the stiles 1, slotted for mounting the pressurerolls Serial No. 245,284.

ing the usual purpose.

The shafts of these rolls are designated 5 and 6, and the shafts carryspur gears 7 and 8, each having two series of teeth, in the relationshown, and the gear wheels meshing as indicated in Figure 3 Theattachment forming the subject inatter of the present invention,includes safety rollers or guard rollers 10 and 11 journaled in boxes orthe like 12 and 13 which are connected by a bar 14. The frame structurethus provided is adapted to be secured to the standard wringer frame, byscrews, at the points designated 14 and 15, indicated in Figure 2. Oneof the ends of shaft 10 projects at 10" and the end last named carries aspur gear wheel 28 adapted to mesh with idler 29 carried by stud 30formed on or carried by base, plate, or slide 30 movable horizontally inguides 30" of Figure 7. These guides may be formed on box 13, and theaxes of the spur wheels 28, 29 and 8 are in horizontal alinement, asthedevice appears in the drawings.

Operative relation, or meshing, between the three wheels just mentionedis desired, regardless of slight variation which may exist in the sizeor width of standard wringer frames, and the slidable idler allows forsuch variation, so that the attachment may be readily applied by anunskilled individual.

Within housings or boxes 12 and 13 are the vertically slidable blocks-22 and 23 adapted to accommodate the shaft ends 11' and 11". Screws 24,25 are threaded nto blocks 22, 23, and are encircled by springs 26, 27,positioned as. shown in Figure 4, and tending to impart downwardpressure to roller 11. These pressure or compression springs yieldreadily, so that the upper roller 11 can have no crushing effect if thefingers or the hand of the operator pass between the safety rolls. Driveis imparted only to the lower roll of this set, and in view of theidler, the direction of rotation will be the same as that of roller 3 ofthe wr nger per se. The feed is from the left in Figure 2, and guidingdevices direct the articles being operated upon between the two sets ofrollers, in an obvious manner.

In connection with the further details of construction, it may be statedthat screws 24,

tions 33 of the boxes 12 and 13, and that the outer guide board isdesignated 35. Guiding device or guide board 36 is positioned betweenthe two pairsof rollers, and the direct-ion of movement of the articlesof clothing is substantially horizontal.

It is within the scope of the invention to provide idlers varyingslightly in size, for application of the apparatus without the use oftools, so that the desired operative connection may be effected eitherby a skilled or unskilled individual.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. In a clothes wringer, a pair of pressure rollers, a pair of guardrollers adjacent to the pressure rollers, an idle gear wheel, a gearwheel rotatable with one of the rollers of each pair and meshing withthe idle gear wheel, a slidable element on 20 which the idl ar wheel ismounted, and

means having an open end for the insertion of the slidable element forguiding the latter and alining the axis of the idle gear wheel with theaxes of the other gear wheels.

2. In a clothes wringer including a frame and pressure rollers mountedtherein, a pair of feed rollers constituting guards and mounted adjacentto the rollers first named, a gear wheel rotatable with one of therollers of each pair, boxes in which the guard rollers are journaled.open end guides carried by one of the boxes. an element to be insertedbet-ween and slidable in the guides, and an additional gear wheel between the gear wheels first named and mounted on the slidable element.

In testimony whereof I have atlixed my signature.

ARTHUR FOI ,K E.

